kanesrealm

Exactly why the Supreme Court rendered a decision that substantially gutted the Voting Rights Act is beyond me. Walking into those weeds would be fruitless. Congress can correct the situation but is not likely to do so anytime soon. Finding ways to dissuade people from voting, particularly if you believe they are opposed to your party, is not new. We've heard a lot about it in recent years because of numerous State initiatives to make it more difficult to meet voter identification requirements. Unfortunately some of the dimmer bulbs in the Republican Party have been taped boasting about how their actions will help their candidates have a better chance of winning. I live in Indiana, which was one of the earliest states to adopt stricter voter I.D. laws. In 2003 I attended a political roundtable breakfast where then Indiana Secretary of State Todd Rokita was the featured speaker. Voter I.D. law was his favorite hobby horse. He said the purpose was to protect against voter fraud. Of...

Just when you thought it was safe to come out of your corn hole, this happened. The Indiana Pastor's Alliance accused Pence and other Republican leaders of betraying Christians by fixing the R.F.R.A. They claim the fix discriminates against Christians and that it is now a "gay rights bill". This according to Alliance Executive Director Rob Johnson. House Speaker Brian Bosma and Senate President David Long have both dismissed the allegations that the legislature has damaged religious liberty. Philip's Temple pastor Carl Kelly said former Republican Senator Richard Lugar didn't serve the needs of conservatives , including the tea party and he paid the price. Kelly said if Indiana failed to enact a stronger RFRA law, the same thing might happen to Pence. Dick Lugar's conservative bona fides were never in question among those with any common sense. What certain people couldn't tolerate was the fact that he knew public policy is only accomplished through neg...

The Indiana General Assembly, working faster than it ever has, added language to the Freedom of Religion Act stating it cannot be used as a defense for discriminating against anyone including the LGBT community. It's a few more words than I just noted but those are the essentials.  The law was sent to Governor Pence who signed it behind closed doors with no media allowed. He then left for Europe. It's no surprise that he didn't want to be seen signing the law because he didn't want to do it.  In his opinion millions of people, including corporate C.E.O.'s are too stupid to read and understand what we just read. We are not able to connect the dots. It's a given that most politicians consider their constituents less than bright and sometimes they're right. But it's not politically wise to show such contempt. Pence and his allies in the legislature truly don't get it. Society is moving forward with or without them. It is time for Indiana to take the n...

I bet you thought Indiana's Freedom of Religion Act was going to quietly fade from the news once it was signed into law, nope. The Indiana Republican Party has made so many mistakes with this legislation, starting with even considering it, that they need to taste electoral defeat but that probably won't happen. This past Saturday hundreds turned out to protest at the Statehouse. A noble effort and a demonstration of what needs to happen when our leaders do stupid things. However, it wasn't going to sway Governor Pence or most of the legislators behind this law. So Governor Pence did everyone on the opposite side a favor, he went on the national Sunday talk shows and demonstrated tremendous political ignorance, he refused to answer George Stephanopoulos question "is it alright to discriminate against gays and lesbians in Indiana?" Pence would not answer the question. His non-answer speaks volumes about his personal beliefs, which are not a surprise to this writer ...

Indiana Governor Mike Pence has signed the Freedom of Religion Act into law. An intense last minute push from business and religious leaders could not sway him from this path. Even the very real possibility that the producers of the GenCon convention, which brings in 50 million dollars a year to the economy of Indianapolis, had no impact on the Governor. The Governor and his super majority party just don't get it. There will be serious economic repercussions as a result of their actions. Pence is trying to minimize the controversy by blaming the media, a classic right wing tactic. It doesn't hold water here in Indiana where the media has covered the story like it was a PTA bake sale. The reporting was done in brief snippets and hardly over the top. The Governor says that people misunderstand the law, he says it's about protecting religious rights from government interference. Apparently he needs to reread the U.S. Constitution which already covers that. He also says that t...

The Indiana House of Representatives passed the Freedom of Religion Act on a vote of 63 to 31. It will now have a very brief layover in the Senate, where they had already passed their version. Governor Mike Pence is just tickled pink with the news and says he can't wait to sign it into law. In fact the super majority representives who allegedly stand for all of Indiana's citizens are all quite proud of their prejudice. There was not now nor was there ever a threat to anyone's religious belief in this country and certainly not in Indiana. A door is about to open which could have far reaching consequences. Do not be deceived by all the smiling corn holes saying it has nothing to do with the GLBT community, it has everything to do with it. It is it's origin and sole purpose. What these short sided moronic legislators fail to recognize is that they will eventually be confronted with discrimination and acts of lunacy that go beyond their intended victims. Here's a fact...

The Indiana Freedom of Religion Act passed out of committee on a straight party line vote of 9 to 4. If you're not aware of it Indiana 's Republican Party has a super majority in the House and Senate as well as the Governor's seat. Who knew the Hoosier state had so many multimillionaires. It will be voted on by the full House as early as March 23. This despite the overwhelming objections of Indiana business leaders who believe passage of this law will have a severe negative impact on economic growth. Yes there are ordinary citizens opposed and organized but don't worry in Indiana those opposed to the ruling parties follies have little influence. But corporate interests usually do,it was they who played an important role in stopping the anti gay marriage legislation last year. This time around their influence doesn't seem to be working. Many in business have voiced concerns, particularly in the health field, of lawsuits resulting from employess deciding they can...

It's one thing to enjoy a lazy day sippin' lemonade and binge watching a favorite show, it's quite another for our legislative representatives to waste the public's time on unnecessary legislation. The Indiana General Assembly is considering a "Freedom of Religion Act" during this session and it's coming to a boil today. This legislation began brewing after the legalization of gay marriage. It is about legitimizing refusing service to the GLBT community but it could open the door to far more discrimination than that. Apparently the sponsors of this bill and it's supporters have forgotten that they live in the United States of America and they already have freedom of religion. We have this thing called the Constitution and the First Amendment reads exactly as follows: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of t...